David "Chase" Baird (born March 18, 1988) is an American saxophonist and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

Biography

Early life

Baird was born in Seattle, Washington. He was introduced to music at an early age by his father, a trumpet player who played in rock bands and doubled on an eclectic collection of

instruments Instrument may refer to: Science and technology * Flight instruments, the devices used to measure the speed, altitude, and pertinent flight angles of various kinds of aircraft * Laboratory equipment, the measuring tools used in a scientific l ...

, including saxophone,

flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

, Rhodes,

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

and percussion. His family moved to Salt Lake City, Utah, in 1996. He began to play the saxophone around age ten, eventually studied jazz and

improvisation Improvisation is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. The skills of impr ...

for several years with saxophonist Alan Braufman. During his teenage years, Baird became highly influenced by the music of saxophonist Michael Brecker. A chance encounter with drummer Jeff Hamilton inspired Baird to try to connect with Brecker directly for music lessons. After making contact via Brecker's manager, Brecker agreed to meet in person next time he traveled through Salt Lake City in early 2003. Although brief, Baird cites Brecker's mentorship around this time as influential on the trajectory of his career. In 2004, Baird's family relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area. He began to collaborate with other young musicians, including pianist Julian Waterfall Pollack. He graduated from Acalanes High School in Lafayette, California in 2006.

2006–present

Baird attended Diablo Valley College for one year, where he studied psychology. He later transferred to

California State University, Long Beach California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) is a public research university in Long Beach, California. The 322-acre campus is the second largest of the 23-school California State University system (CSU) and one of the largest universities i ...

to study music, notably with saxophonists Eric Marienthal, Sal Lozano and Jay Mason and program director Jeff Jarvis. He left the program after two years and eventually relocated to New York City, where he enrolled at The Juilliard School (studying with Ron Blake, Steve Wilson, Joe Temperley, Frank Kimbrough, Rodney Jones, Kendall Briggs and others) and completed an undergraduate degree in 2014. In 2009, he was featured in the soundtrack to ''Emancipated'', a film by P.K. Ziainia with music by composer Rodrigo Denis. Baird recorded and released his debut album, ''Crosscurrent'', in 2010, featuring pianist Julian Waterfall Pollack, guitarist John Storie, bassist Christopher Tordini, drummer

Steve Lyman Stephen Richard Lyman (born January 22, 1982) is an American jazz drummer, composer and educator. Biography Early life Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, Lyman was exposed to music at an early age by his father, a classical guitarist. Lyman be ...

and percussionist James Yoshizawa. Baird joined drummer Antonio Sánchez's group ''Migration'' in 2018, recording both saxophone and Electronic Wind Instrument on the group's critically acclaimed album ''Lines in the Sand''. He also began to co-lead the band ''Venture'', alongside drummer Mike Clark, vibraphonist Mark Sherman and electric bassist Felix Pastorius. The group released their first album ''Life Cycle'' on

Ropeadope Records Ropeadope Records is an American record label known for recordings in a variety of genres including jazz, hip hop, gospel, and electronic music. The label, now led by Louis Marks, was founded in 1999 by Andy HurwitzAndy Hurwitz"Ropeadope carves i ...

. Baird released '' A Life Between'', his second album as a leader in August 2019. The recording features Brad Mehldau, Antonio Sánchez, Nir Felder and

Dan Chmielinski Dan Chmielinski, also known as "Chimy" (''shim'-ee''), (born December 28, 1993) is an American jazz bassist, synthesist and composer. Biography Early life Raised in Glenview, Illinois, Chmielinski began playing bass at age three, initially uti ...

. He collaborated with drummer

to compose, record and produce the electro-acoustic composition ''Pulsar'', later released in July 2020. He has also worked alongside jazz and fusion artists including Mike Stern,

Antonio Farao Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular male ...

, Aaron Parks, Thana Alexa, Dennis Chambers, Gary Grainger, Gene Perla,

Dan Tepfer Dan Tepfer (born 1982 in Paris, France) is a French-American jazz pianist and composer. He is best known for his 2011 album ''Goldberg Variations/Variations'' and his 2019 multimedia project ''Natural Machines''. Biography Dan Tepfer grew up in ...

, Jeremy Green, Victor Wooten, Keith Carlock, Circuit Kisser and the Mingus Big Band, among others. His work as a featured soloist with the Kyle Athayde Dance Party has garnered over one million views on YouTube. In the pop and rock genres, he performed with

Chaka Khan Yvette Marie Stevens (born March 23, 1953), better known by her stage name Chaka Khan (), is an American singer. Her career has spanned more than five decades, beginning in the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the funk band Rufus. Known as the " Qu ...

, Matthew Morrison, Jakob Dylan, Diana Degarmo, Chloe Agnew and

Morgan James Morgan James (born November 24, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She has appeared in numerous Broadway shows, including '' Motown: The Musical'', ''Godspell'', and ''The Addams Family''. Her first studio album, ''Hunter'', ...

Selected discography

As leader

*''Pulsar'' (Outside In Music, 2020) with

, J3PO (Julian Pollack) &

*'' A Life Between'' (Soundsabound Records, 2019) with Brad Mehldau, Nir Felder,

and Antonio Sanchez *'' Crosscurrent'' (Junebeat Records, 2010) with Julian Pollack,

John Storie John Story (or Storey) (1504 – 1 June 1571) was an English Roman Catholic martyr and Member of Parliament. Story escaped to Flanders in 1563, but seven years later he was lured aboard a boat in Antwerp and abducted to England, where he was im ...

, Chris Tordini,

and James Yoshizawa

As co-leader

*''Life Cycle'' (Ropeadope Records, 2018) with Mark Sherman, Felix Pastorius and Mike Clark

As sideman

*''Michael & Me'' – Jeremy Green feat. Victor Wooten, Keith Carlock and Chase Baird (Independent, 2020) *''Force Tranquille'' – Jean-marie Corrois (Independent, 2020) *''Faking The Moon Landing'' – Circuit Kisser (Soundsabound Records, 2019) *''Lines in the Sand'' – Antonio Sanchez & Migration (

CAM Jazz CAM Jazz is an Italian jazz record label founded in 2000. It is part of group that also manages the labels CAM Jazz Presents, Black Saint/Soul Note, and DDQ (Dischi Della Quercia). The label's musicians have received several Grammy Award nominatio ...

, 2018) *''Language of Sound and Spirit'' – Joshua Maxey (Independent, 2012) *''Hunter'' –

(Epic, 2014) *''Celebration of Soul'' – Joshua Maxey (Independent, 2015)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Baird, Chase 1988 births Living people Post-bop saxophonists American jazz saxophonists American male saxophonists American jazz composers American male jazz composers Juilliard School alumni 21st-century American saxophonists 21st-century American male musicians Caleb Chapman's Crescent Super Band members